His Irreplaceable Belle: Touches of Austen, #4

By Leenie Brown

They say time heals all wounds, but can it truly restore two shattered hearts?

 

Not every father wishes for his daughter to marry a physician. Fredrick "Fritz" Norman discovered that years ago when the father and brother of the lady he loved attempted to destroy him. Since then, he has become a great success in medicine. However, in the affairs of the heart, he has failed miserably to find anyone who can replace his Belle.

 

Persuaded by the tears of her mother, a young Annabelle "Belle" Chapman once gave up the man she loved. For years, she has regretted that decision. Six years later and still unmarried, her father declares her a spinster and sends her to be a companion to her aunt.

 

As fate would have it, Belle's aunt is one of Fritz's patients, and no amount of persuasion is going to make her willing to give up the best physician in Bath. Belle and Fritz are just going to have to learn to see each other while knowing all the while that they can be nothing more than acquaintances. Or so they think.

 

However, as Belle and Fritz will discover, a love like theirs can neither be denied nor replaced by another --no matter what obstacles might stand in its way.

 

His Irreplaceable Belle is the fourth book in Leenie Brown's Touches of Austen series. If you like second chance romances reminiscent of Jane Austen's Persuasion, then you will love this sweet Regency romance about heartache and longing and a love strong enough to triumph over the agony of the past.

 

So, put the kettle on, grab your copy of His Irreplaceable Belle, and join Fritz and Belle as they navigate a reunion destined to grant them the happiness they were once cruelly denied.

 

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Previous books in this series: 

His Beautiful Bea (Graeme and Beatrice's story) 

His Darling Friend (Roger and Victoria's story)

Her Secret Beau (Walter and Grace's story) 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leenie B Books
• Release date: Mar 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781989410561

Leenie Brown

Leenie Brown has always been a girl with an active imagination, which, while growing up, was a both an asset, providing many hours of fun as she played out stories, and a liability, when her older sister and aunt would tell her frightening tales.  At one time, they had her convinced Dracula lived in the trunk at the end of the bed she slept in when visiting her grandparents! Although it has been years since she cowered in her bed in her grandparents’ basement, she still has an imagination which occasionally runs away with her, and she feeds it now as she did then ─ by reading! Her heroes, when growing up, were authors, and the worlds they painted with words were (and still are) her favourite playgrounds!  She was that child, under the covers with the flashlight, reading until the wee hours of the morning…and pretending not to be tired the next day so her mother wouldn’t find out. In addition to feeding her imagination, she also exercises it ─ by writing. While writing has been an activity she has dabbled in over the years, it blossomed into a full-fledged obsession when she stumbled upon the world of Jane Austen Fan Fiction.  Leenie had first fallen in love with Jane Austen's work in her early teens when she was captivated by the tale of a girl, who like her, was the second born of five daughters.  Now, as an adult, she spends much time in the regency world, playing with the characters from her favourite Jane Austen novels and a few that are of her own creation. When she is not traipsing down a trail in an attempt to keep up with her imagination, Leenie resides in the beautiful province of Nova Scotia with her two sons and her very own Mr. Brown (a wonderful mix of all the best of Darcy, Bingley and Edmund with a healthy dose of the teasing Mr. Tilney and just a dash of the scolding Mr. Knightley).

Book preview

Chapter 1

Fredrick Fritz Norman had just picked up his pen and begun to record his observations about his most recent patient when the door to his surgery opened. He looked up, intending to give a nod of greeting to his visitor before returning to his writing. But the sight of the person who had stepped inside his office caused his pen to stutter on the page.

She was not supposed to be here. In fact, at present, if he had to choose one patient he did not wish to have enter his surgery, it would be her, for he was attempting to avoid her.

Quickly, he placed his pen in its holder before he could make a further mess of his notes. There would be no returning to recording his thoughts while Mrs. King was present. She was a lovely woman, but she was demanding and did not like to wait.

Mrs. King, I had not thought to see you. He pushed up from his desk.

Mrs. King was not one of the patients who called on him at his surgery. She did not need to pay him in feed for his horse or eggs for his breakfast. She kept him on a retainer and expected him to call on her once a week to hear about whatever ache or pain was plaguing her at that moment. She was in good health and had no dire need of medical attention. All she really needed was for him to assure her that she was not ill.

You have not called in two weeks.

That had been purposefully done, though he was not about to admit that to her.

She removed her reticule from where it hung on her wrist before skewering him with a critical look. I could have died in that time, and you would not have seen me at all.

You are not dying. You are amongst my healthiest patients. He motioned for her to take a seat in the chair that was in front of his desk. It was turned at an angle so that he might approach his patients from the front, but, if need be, with a turn of the head, a patient could also hold a conversation with him while he sat and wrote notes.

I will not be in such good health if you continue to ignore me. She sat as indicated, and her lips pursed and her brows rose as a look of great displeasure settled over her features.

I have not ignored you. Avoiding was not the same as ignoring. I have sent Mr. Spencer in my place. I assure you that he is an excellent assistant and his reports are most thorough.

I will not see him. I wish for a physician, not a surgeon. It matters not to me how fine Mr. Spencer is.

Fritz blew out a breath. He had had a suspicion that his assistant being sent away completely yesterday without even gaining entrance to Mrs. King’s residence was a sign that he would need to find someone else entirely to take on her care.

I have a couple of meetings arranged with other physicians. Mr. Spencer was just a temporary measure to see that you were well while I found you an appropriate replacement for my services.

Mrs. King’s gaze roamed over Fritz’s face. Then, she shook her head. That will not do. I shall see you or no one at all. Do you wish to be the cause of my deteriorating health?

You are in excellent health, Mrs. King. I am certain you could sustain a period of time without weekly calls by a physician.

She adjusted the hem of the glove on her right hand. But I do not wish to go without those calls, and I will have no one but you. I shall raise my payment by ten percent. She opened her reticule and drew out a banknote. Do you wish for me to leave this with you or your man of business?

I have no man of business. Which she knew for they had discussed that very thing not more than a month ago, and Mrs. King’s memory was as sharp as any he had seen.

Then, I shall leave this with you, and you can call on me tomorrow.

I cannot do that. For that would mean seeing her niece, and he truly could not bear that.

She studied him again for a long silent minute. Why?

I just think it would be best if you were under the care of another. It would most certainly be best for his peace of mind.

Her expression told him that she did not think it would be better. Is this new physician I am to see better than you?

Perhaps. He was not so arrogant as to think there could not be a better physician than he, but he also was not so self-abasing that he would refrain from declaring his skills as finely honed.

Can you guarantee that he is? For, from what I have been told by Mr. Blakesley, there is none better in Bath than you.

The praise of a friend was supposed to be something for which one should feel grateful. However, at the moment, grateful was not the feeling coursing through Fritz’s veins. Dread, fear, the feeling of being backed into a corner and held at gunpoint – all of those were much closer to the way he was currently feeling.

No, I cannot guarantee that. While I do believe my friend puts greater faith in my abilities than even I do, he is not wrong in saying that I am good at what I do.

Mrs. King smiled rather triumphantly. Well, if that is the case, then, I should like a reasonable explanation as to why I should be placed in inferior care when I am paying for the best. If you cannot give me one acceptable reason to quit me, then you must remain as you have been – my physician. She placed the banknote she held on his desk. With a ten percent increase in your fee.

He picked up the banknote and held it out to her. I can neither give you a good reason, nor can I accept this.

She shook her head. You can and you will accept it. I will have it no other way, and you surely must know that a disappointment at my age is a perilous thing. It would not do at all for me to take to my bed with malaise when I have a niece who needs to visit the Upper Rooms and the theatre. She stood.

And how, she added with a charming smile – she must have been a very popular lady in her youth – when I am bedridden, am I to take a walk in the Gardens to take in the air and enjoy the brightness of the day? It does so much good for one’s health, or so I have been told by the best physician in Bath.

It was just like her to use his words against him. She was like Blakesley in that regard – both were prodigiously good to him until they wanted something, and then, they would sway him by repeating his own wisdom to him. He shook his head. There was no way he was going to be allowed to quit his place as her physician.

I will have an apple cake, she said with a smile and a waggle of her eyebrows. Cook is making it first thing tomorrow as I expect Mr. and Mrs. Blakesley to call.

Very carefully, she placed her reticule back on her arm. I should think that if you were to call half an hour before regular calling hours begin, you would be able to take tea and eat cake with your friends. I find it is always a better time when there are several good friends gathered. She stopped at the door to his surgery which he opened for her. And I do consider you a friend, Mr. Norman.

I thank you for your consideration.

No thanks is needed. One does not befriend another to receive thanks. She shook her head as if it was the daftest thing she had ever heard.

Now, Annabelle, she said to the pretty lady who had risen from the chair in the hall outside his surgery, we have a garden to visit. Do not dawdle. A brisk walk is best for one’s constitution. It makes the heart hardy and hale and gives vibrance to the cheeks. Is that not what you tell me?

Apparently, he was not the only one to have his words of wisdom tossed back at him by Mrs. King when she wished to have her way.

Yes, Aunt. Thank you for seeing my aunt without an appointment, Mr. Norman. She gave her aunt a pointed look.

Mr. Norman is a friend. One calls on a friend as one feels led. I needed no appointment. Her smile slipped into a smirk. Besides, his appointments were concluded for the day. I was not delaying him from another.

How did you know that? Fritz asked.

I saw Mr. Spencer leaving upon my arrival.

Oh! She was cunning.

From the sounds of your niece’s advice, Mrs. King, you do not need my care. I think you would do well enough without me.

And not have a handsome young man to simper over me? She chuckled. I think not. Come along, Annabelle.

Thank you, Belle whispered once more before adding, your attention means a lot to her.

So it would seem, Fritz muttered.

I am very glad to see that you have done so well. She gave a sweeping look around the hall and through the door to his surgery before scurrying away when her aunt called to her from the door to Fritz’s townhouse.

He watched her exit, and then returned to his surgery to finish making the notes he had been writing when Mrs. King entered. However, he did not cross immediately to his desk. Instead, he chose to peek out the window and watch Mrs. King and her niece make their way down the road.

As he watched them, Belle looked back. Fearful of being caught watching, he stepped back but did not give up his observation of her. How could he? His heart was as drawn to her now as it had been six years ago. He sighed and allowed himself to feel the agony of a longing which would never be satisfied. Then, when he could see them no longer, he continued to his desk and dropped into his chair.

His pen was waiting for him, and he knew he needed to finish his notes. Yet, his mind was not ready to return to the improvement of Mr. Weller’s leg pain when exercise and rest were taken in proper measure. There was no room to contemplate the role proper meals and limited sweets had played in Mr. Weller’s improvement. There was not even space to chuckle over the consternation expressed by Mr. Weller over the grievous lack of sweets in his home.

Fritz’s mind was filled to overflowing with thoughts of Mrs. King’s beautiful niece and the puzzle of how he was going to be able to call on Mrs. King and not feel his heart constricting each time he had to sit and take tea with Belle.

He dropped his head into his hands. Surviving such a call while Belle remained unattached would be painful enough, but what would he do when she had callers? How would he be able to tolerate seeing other fellows fawn and flatter her? And he knew they would. How could they not? Belle was as pretty now as she had been when he last saw her six years ago. She was much sought-after then, and he was certain she would be just as sought-after now.

He expelled a slow breath in an attempt to alleviate some of the deep ache in his heart. The thought of another gentleman courting Belle was as disagreeable